District 26 Race Intensifies Over Negative Campaigning

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The State Senate District 26 race is heating up after candidate David Lucas accuses Senator Miriam Paris of running negative ad campaigns.

During a news conference Thursday, Lucas addressed a controversial campaign mailer that featured an unflattering picture of the former state representative who appears to be yawning. The mailer goes onto to say:

“We don’t need a sleeping senator. David Lucas falls asleep on the job. And when he wakes up, he’s a nightmare. David Lucas slept while thousands of jobs left Middle Georgia.”

Now Lucas is firing back. He’s says if anyone has been sleeping on the job it is Paris.

“The senator elect was asleep on the job when they did the consolidation bill that she could not explain,” Lucas said.

The ad was paid for by a group called Georgia Forward with an address connected to an Atlanta law firm, Strickland Brockington Lewis LLP.  41NBC was contacted by the executive director of an independent, non-partisan group also called Georgia Forward, who said his group did not pay for the mailer.

Lucas believes that ad was paid for by Republicans. He feels that negative campaigning is taking over the race but says he’s not the one behind it.

“I have not done nasty campaigning; I’ve talked about the record. I’ve talked about David Lucas record and Senator Paris has a record. Only nasty campaigning I’ve seen is probably from her folks. All my signs are missing, I had to go buy some more,” Lucas said.

Paris is refuting all of these claims.

“They have done no negative campaigns, not from myself, not from my team. We have no negative TV or radio ads, nor have we mentioned my opponent’s name. We are running a positive campaign on the issues and I think that’s what’s most important to our voters,” Paris said.

Voters will decide what is most important in the District 26 run-off election. Election day August 21.